Freddy Khambata – Mumbai, India

“I see God in Nature. The most concrete example of God is air. Air is something which we cannot see but all the time we can feel. We feel cold; we feel hot. Air makes us feel everything but we cannot see air. So air is such an element of God which you have to just feel and believe. My religion teaches me and depends on elements of God. Nature—like plants, air, earth, water, human beings, and animals, mountains, and, of course, sky/clouds—the seven creations of God. And I strongly believe in them. Those elements of nature make me believe there is God.”

I met Freddy Khambata in Mumbai, India where he is the Head Priest of a Zoroastrian Fire Temple. I felt like I had met a long lost brother. Not only were we both former accounting students in college, but I resonated with Freddy’s life-long search to be in service to God and to help heal others. He was born into a priestly class and, while his father also wanted him to become a priest, the ultimate decision is left to the individual. Freddy went to boarding school and became a priest at age 12 but then went on for other schooling, graduating with a Bachelors in Commerce. He followed his first passion, to work for an airline, but within two months resigned because it did not feel like the right place for him. After a stint as a part-time fire temple priest, he was offered the role as head priest. That was 10 years ago and he is still serving.